In an extremely compassionate gesture, Selvaraj, the father of two teenage children who had died in a wall collapse in Mettupalayam, decided to donate the eyes of his kids.

A discriminatory wall that was built in Mettupalayam collapsed due to heavy rains earlier this week, killing 17 people. Selvaraj's children Nivetha (18) and Ramanathan (15) were among them. "I was told that eye donation was possible and I immediately agreed. Their bodies may go back to the earth or may be given to fire. This way, if their eyes are of help to two people, isn’t that a good deed? I have no one now," Selvaraj reportedly told media. After his wife Lakshmi passed away a few years ago, Selvaraj, who runs a tea stall in the Nadur village, had been taking care of his kids all alone.

The 80-feet-long granite compound wall of 60-year-old Sivasubramanian's bungalow was raised to prevent the Dalit community from gaining access to his premises. The man was arrested on Tuesday and has been remanded in judicial custody.